Developer Can Build Townhomes

SUNRISE — For two years, Armando Barrantes has looked out his window at the remains of an unsightly townhouse development at Josh Lee Boulevard and Nob Hill Road.

He sees litter on concrete slabs. At one time, the slabs supported half-built townhomes that were torn down two years ago because the city said they were unsafe.

Soon, Barrantes' unsightly view will change. A developer has won approval to build 60 townhomes on the property, known as Countryside at Welleby. The new project will go next to 62 townhomes completed before the original developer went bankrupt.

"This is a nice area and it's a shame it's sat like this so long," Barrantes said.

City commissioners on Tuesday approved plans by Seven Seas Management Co. in Boca Raton to build on the site. Construction should start in the next few weeks. The new townhomes, which will either be three bedroom/two bath or two bedroom/two bath units, will sell for $90,000 to $100,000.

Commissioners, who have struggled to deal with housing projects that go belly up before completion, put some conditions on the project. They want to make sure the developer, Benny Bercovicz, upgrades the entire complex.

Bercovicz may build four buildings, about a third of the project, before some of the conditions kick in.

He must finish landscaping, paint existing buildings, add outdoor lights and upgrade the pool and cabana before a certificate of occupancy will be issued for the fifth building. He also agreed to resurface the parking area and work with the existing homeowners' association.

"This particular area was a big headache to us," said Assistant Deputy Mayor Dan Pearl, adding that the half-built homes would have been a danger in a hurricane. "Everything was left abandoned."

Two years ago, the city spent about $30,000 to tear down the incomplete townhomes. The city did so after complaints from its own Building Department that it was taking too long for the city bureaucracy to arrange for the destruction work.

The project, which is behind the Welleby Square shopping center, has been in bankruptcy. Bercovicz said he is in the process of buying it from the federal government.